


Empty Spot

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Dentistry, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 17:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18674644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: With difficulty, Jesse gets his mouth open wide enough to show Gabe the new gap in his front teeth. Gabe blinks then grimaces.“Motherfucker,” Jesse says. “I think I swallowed it.”---Jesse loses a tooth during a mission and Gabe makes him go to the dentist.





	Empty Spot

**Author's Note:**

> I literally have no idea why, of all the things I could possibly have been writing, _this_ is the one that I managed to finish. Hurt/comfort and, ahem, tooth-rotting fluff are my weakness, what can I say?
> 
> Shout out to [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/pseuds/fabrega/works) for continuing to wear the World's Best Beta cap for the _n_ th straight year in a row! 
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic), [tumblr](https://wictorwictor.tumblr.com/), and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/mcreyes)! ♥

Like many of their operations, this one ends in a fist fight. It’s better than a firefight, but only marginally, since a well-placed punch can still do a hell of a lot of damage. 

This becomes glaringly obvious to Jesse the moment the target’s fist connected with Jesse’s face. The guy must have brass knuckles or _something_ \- there’s no way human bones are that hard. Jesse sees stars as he stumbles back. The edges of his vision start to go fuzzy, but Jesse stubbornly keeps himself upright. He’s always been scrappy. Jesse is the kind of guy you’d want on your side in a bar fight, no question. He had made a name for himself in Deadlock with his aim, but everyone underestimated how well Jesse could throw a punch. Folks usually only made that mistake once. 

Another punch catches Jesse off guard. It connects with his mouth and he swears he can taste metal. Bastard. He feels something come loose. As he goes down, the black closing in, he hears the familiar low, wet thud of a shotgun shell connecting with flesh. 

Jesse wakes when big, rough hands seize his face. He blinks blearily as he tries to get his bearings. It’s impossible to say how long he was out, though it can’t have been very long at all. After a moment of sluggish blinking, Gabe’s face comes into shaky focus. He’s backlit by the sun and Jesse has to narrow his eyes to see him. 

“Jesse, are you with me?” Gabe asks urgently. Gabe’s eyebrows are drawn and his jaw is tight. Jesse can barely hear him above the ringing sound in his ears. 

“Yeah I can hear you,” Jesse says, or tries to say. The words come out thick and slurred. Jesse registers the taste of blood in his mouth. He tries to spit but he finds that moving his jaw sends shooting pain through his skull. 

“Don’t talk,” Gabe says. His tone oozes worry. He tears his gaze away, looking for something or someone Jesse can’t see from this angle. 

“You asked me a question,” Jesse says petulantly, but the sounds come out garbled. Gabe looks back down at him quickly. 

“You’re probably concussed,” Gabe says. Jesse makes a face, but it hurts. 

“You think?” he says. It comes out slightly more comprehensible than before - more like “yuh tink” - so Gabe seems to get the picture. Something that looks like relief passes over his face. 

“He hit you pretty hard,” Gabe says. He glances down at the rest of Jesse’s body. “Nothing else?” 

“Nah,” Jesse says, even though he’s not totally sure. His head is killing him. He closes his eyes again, just to blot out the harsh light overhead. 

“The shuttle’s coming,” Gabe says, his voice sounding far away. “We’ll get you cleaned up.” 

Jesse nods. “Got ‘em?” 

“All taken care of,” Gabe says. Jesse winces a little as Gabe gathers Jesse up off the ground. The world spins underneath him. He scrambles for purchase, one hand pawing at Gabe’s tac vest. Gabe’s strong arm wraps around Jesse’s waist and holds him firmly to his side. His other hand flattens Jesse’s palm to his chest, rough and warm, grounding. Jesse feels the world settle and even out. He lets Gabe take most of his weight. 

The shuttle lands a few minutes later. Gabe helps Jesse into the back and settles him into one of the jump seats. He buckles Jesse securely before he moves away to get a med kit. Jesse feels the shuttle lift off. It makes his head spin. He lets his head fall back against the headrest and closes his eyes, trying to take stock of his injuries. His nose is broken again, probably. His jaw might be dislocated - it hurts enough to be a possibility. It feels like he bit off a piece of his tongue, too, but maybe he just cut it real good. 

All things considered, it probably could’ve been a lot worse. He isn’t exactly looking forward to Angela setting his nose, though. After that bit of unpleasantness, all he’d need is a few rounds of biotics and Jesse would be well on the way to being back in fighting shape, ready to get punched again another day. 

Gabe comes back with the med kit and sits down next to him. Jesse turns his head to look at him, even though it hurts. 

“You look like shit, by the way,” Gabe says. Jesse snorts and immediately regrets it. Gabe hurries to crack open a biotic pack and holds it to Jesse’s face apologetically. “Sorry.” 

“You’re not the one who punched me,” Jesse says thickly. His tongue feels enormous in his mouth, swollen and tender. Gabe seems to understand the gist of what Jesse’s saying at least. 

“You know what I mean,” Gabe says. “Hold this.” 

Jesse holds the biotic pack close to his face while Gabe fishes some antiseptic and gauze out of the kit. The warm tingle of the field biotic pack isn’t nearly enough to be soothing, but Jesse appreciates the thought. Gabe moves Jesse’s hand aside slightly to dab at his face. Jesse winces. 

“Sorry,” Gabe says again. Jesse gives Gabe a look so Gabe keeps going, accumulating a pile of bloody gauze in his lap. 

“‘Sthat all me?” Jesse asks. 

“He clocked you pretty hard,” Gabe says. 

“Huh.” 

Gabe either runs out of gauze or gives up trying to get all the blood off Jesse’s face. He checks the biotic pack, bringing his own face close to Jesse’s. 

“Water?” Gabe asks. 

“Yeah,” Jesse says with a nod. Gabe sweeps the gauze into a messy pile before he gets up. He brings a water bottle back to Jesse. Before Jesse can reach for it, Gabe twists the top off and drops a straw into the bottle. He holds it out to Jesse, who blinks. 

“Not sure how much you’re going to be able to open your jaw,” Gabe says. “Take small sips.” 

Jesse wants to make some kind of smart remark, but he’s too struck by Gabe’s thoughtfulness to ruin the moment. He lowers the biotic pack - the glow was already fading, anyway - and brings the straw to his lips. His jaw practically creaks just to part his lips slightly, but the water feels amazing in his swollen mouth. Jesse takes another small sip, then blinks. He pauses. Gabe’s brow furrows. 

“Alright?” 

Jesse drops the biotic pack so he can feel his mouth. His lip is cut and swollen, unsurprisingly. Jesse worms a finger between his lips. 

“Huh,” he says, pulling his finger away, a string of blood and saliva coming away with it. Jesse wipes it off on his tac vest distractedly. 

“What?” Gabe asks. 

With difficulty, Jesse gets his mouth open wide enough to show Gabe the new gap in his front teeth. Gabe blinks then grimaces. 

“Motherfucker,” Jesse says. “I think I swallowed it.” 

“Nothing the docs can’t fix,” Gabe says. Jesse huffs a little. He had had such _nice_ teeth too. 

=-=-=

Predictably, Angela resets Jesse’s nose and runs the strong regens on his nose and jaw, clicking her tongue at him the whole while. His nose was broken but, thankfully, not crushed and his jaw suffered a hairline fracture. Jesse’s jaw is still sore even after the biotics, but it feels much better after a round or two with the regens - and a hearty dose of pain meds. 

“I’m going to have to refer you to a dentist,” Angela says. Jesse blinks. 

“Can’t you fix it?” Jesse says. With the swelling gone and the blood cleaned up, he’s become very aware of the missing tooth in the front of his mouth. He keeps poking at the empty spot with his tongue. 

“You need a specialist,” Angela says, shaking her head. “Contrary to what you might think, I’m not a miracle worker.” 

“But you know everything,” Jesse says, a bit of a whine coming into his voice. 

“I’ll write you the referral,” Angela says, turning away. “And do I have to remind you of the concussion protocols?” 

“No,” Jesse says begrudgingly. 

“Good,” Angela says, hitting send on her tablet with a flourish. “Now go get some rest. I’m sure Commander Reyes will hold you to my recommended treatment.” 

“He always does,” Jesse says, sliding down from the exam table. Angela shakes her head fondly. 

“Try not to get punched so much,” she says as he leaves. Jesse waves a hand over his shoulder. 

“No promises!” 

=-=-=

Jesse lets himself into Gabe’s quarters a few minutes later. Gabe has already changed out of his tac gear and is wearing the awful souvenir shirt Jesse brought him back from the Cave of Mystery. He looks up from where he’s sitting on the sofa as the door slides open. 

“Everything alright?” 

Jesse flashes him a grin, the gap in his front teeth painfully obvious. Gabe winces in sympathy. Jesse comes over to the sofa and flops down, smushing his face into Gabe’s lap. 

“You still love me even though I look like a hillbilly?” 

“Jesse, I loved you when you sounded like one,” Gabe says, setting his tablet aside to stroke Jesse’s hair. Jesse turns over so he can look up at Gabe. Gabe runs a finger gently around the edge of Jesse’s black eye. A wave of tenderness washes over Jesse. He sits up so he can kiss Gabe. 

“You big softy,” Jesse murmurs. He can feel Gabe smile against his mouth. Gabe’s hand is holding Jesse’s cheek, carefully, tenderly. 

“I have a reputation to keep up, you know.” 

“You’re doing a terrible job,” Jesse says. He lies back down in Gabe’s lap. 

“Nobody knows that but you,” Gabe says. Jesse laughs and settles in. Gabe resumes petting his hair. “Is Angela waiting to fix you up?” 

Jesse makes a face against Gabe’s thigh. “Nah. She referred me to a dentist.” 

“Oh.” 

“I ain’t never been to a dentist,” Jesse says. He feels Gabe’s hand pause mid-stroke. 

“What?” 

Jesse looks up at him again. “What? That so hard to believe?” 

“You have good teeth,” Gabe says, then makes a face - as if he can’t believe he said that. Jesse snorts. 

“ _Had_. And yeah, that’s why I ain’t been,” Jesse says. Gabe looks at him incredulously. 

“Never?” 

Jesse shrugs. “Nope.” 

“Are you going to go? 

Jesse shrugs again. “Maybe.” 

“...Are you scared?” 

Jesse swats him. “No!” 

“Well, why wouldn’t you go then?” 

“I dunno, doesn’t seem important.” 

“Your oral health is just as important as the rest of your health.” 

“Yeah I guess you have a vested interest in that.” 

This time Gabe swats him. 

“That is _not_ what I mean.” 

“I’m just saying, getting my teeth knocked out ain’t a big deal,” Jesse says. “It’s not like a broken arm - it ain’t going to impact my normal life, you know?” 

“I don’t understand how, in all the years you’ve been scraping, you’ve never managed to lose a tooth,” Gabe says. Jesse grins up at him. 

“I’m just that good, Gabe.” 

=-=-=

Jesse puts off the appointment two, three times. The bruises fade and his mouth heals, leaving a eerily smooth, empty space that Jesse cannot help but probe endlessly with his tongue. When he discovers that he can whistle through the gap, he is positively delighted. 

Gabe is less so. 

“I cleared your calendar tomorrow,” Gabe says one evening a few weeks after the incident. Jesse looks up from where he’s sprawled over Gabe’s tiny sofa. 

“Why? Top secret mission?” 

“Something like that,” Gabe says without looking up from his tablet. Jesse scrambles to sit upright. 

“Yeah? What’s the case? What are the mission parameters?” 

“It’s called Operation Tooth Fairy,” Gabe says. He taps something on his tablet. “Details are still being finalized.” 

“When are we leaving? Who’s coming with us?” 

“0900, and it’s just us,” Gabe says. Jesse frowns. 

“Just us?” 

“Just us.” 

“Oh.” 

“Don’t sound so disappointed now,” Gabe says, glancing up. His expression betrays nothing, but Jesse knows him better than that. 

“You’re up to something,” Jesse says. Gabe blinks at him impassively. 

“Am I?” 

“Our anniversary isn’t for another month and a half and you’re doing your spy face,” Jesse says. 

“I do not have a spy face.” 

“You do. It looks a lot like your ‘holding in a fart’ face.” 

Gabe, for what it’s worth, doesn’t look offended. 

“The best Blackwatch has to offer,” he says dryly. He gets up and comes over to squeeze onto the sofa next to Jesse. Jesse squints at him. 

“Where are we going?” 

“The dentist,” Gabe says finally. Jesse shoves him. It’s like shoving a brick wall. 

“I don’t need to go to the dentist!” 

“Listen, I’ll hold your hand if you’re scared.” 

“I’m _not_ scared.” 

“Your whistling is driving me nuts,” Gabe says. “You do it in your sleep, you know. It’s worse than snoring. And I’d rather you not have any more identifying characteristics.” 

“Are you going to make me hang up my spurs, too?” 

Gabe rolls his eyes. “Will you please go to the dentist? For my own peace of mind?” 

Jesse flops back onto the sofa cushions, grumbling. Gabe rarely ever pulls that card on Jesse - usually it’s the other way around, Gabe the one who’s prone to injuries and the side effects of the SEP serum. 

“Alright. Fine.” 

Gabe leans down and kisses the corner of Jesse’s mouth. 

“Thank you.” 

=-=-=

Gabe drives the two of them into town the next morning. They’re both dressed in civilian clothes and Jesse is filled with an inexplicable feeling of dread. He doesn’t know what to expect, exactly, and that makes him feel wrong-footed. He scowls at the clean, nondescript office building. 

“You don’t even give Angela this much grief,” Gabe says as they get out of the car. 

“I know Angie. And most of the time I’m unconscious while she’s working,” Jesse says. 

“I’m sure they could knock you out.” 

“I’m just annoyed that all this happened in the first place,” Jesse says. “In all my years, I ain’t never had a problem with my teeth getting knocked in.” 

“There’s a first time for everything,” Gabe says, holding the door open for Jesse. Jesse makes a face at him as he steps inside. 

The office is brightly lit with crisp white walls and an impressive saltwater fish tank in one corner. A receptionist with a shockingly white smile beams at them from behind the desk. 

“Do you have an appointment?” he asks. Jesse slouches forward. 

“Yeah. The name’s McCree, Jesse McCree,” he says. The receptionist hands him a tablet. 

“Just fill in the blanks and Dr. Jenca will be right with you,” the receptionist says. Jesse fills in the form and hands the tablet back to the receptionist. He gestures to the fashionable waiting room where Gabe is already sitting, ankle on his knee. “Have a seat.” 

Jesse sits next to Gabe and gives him a sullen look. The corner of Gabe’s mouth twitches. 

“It’s going to be fine, Jesse,” Gabe says. 

“Quit saying that.” 

“Well stop looking like a scared puppy.” 

Jesse elbows him hard as a woman in a white lab coat appears next to the reception desk. She smiles. 

“Mr. McCree?” 

Jesse stands. He feels Gabe stand up next to him too. He looks over at Gabe, who lifts an eyebrow. 

“I said I’d hold your hand.” 

Jesse lets Gabe follow him back with the dentist. 

=-=-=

It turns out, that the dentist _does_ end up knocking Jesse out. The implant for the replacement required some drilling and what the dentist referred to as “light surgery,” so Jesse was more than happy to opt for the unconscious option. He’s still coming out from the sedative as Gabe escorts Jesse back to the car. 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Jesse slurs. 

“You’re drooling.” 

“My whole mouth is numb.” 

“Maybe don’t talk for a little bit.” 

Jesse slumps in the front seat of the car, his head feeling heavy and light at the same time. He forgot how spoiled he was with Angela’s top-of-the-line medical innovations. The civilian stuff just doesn’t compare. 

He leans his head back to look at Gabe as he drives them back to the base. Gabe sees the movement out of the corner of his eye. 

“Okay?” 

“This is your fault,” Jesse says without venom. 

“I seem to remember you getting yourself punched in the face.” 

Jesse waves a hand. Gabe chuckles, catching Jesse’s hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. 

“I’ll make it right.” 

After a period in which Jesse loses a little bit of time, he finds himself ensconced on Gabe’s sofa, a soft blanket tucked across his chest. 

“‘M not sick,” Jesse mumbles. His mouth feels tender, his jaw aches. 

“You’re supposed to eat soft foods for a day or two,” Gabe says, reading off his tablet. “Nothing hot, and no straws. Oh, weird, your nose might bleed.” 

Gabe looks down at Jesse over the rim of his tablet. Jesse lifts a hand to touch his nose. 

“Am I bleeding now?” 

“No. Does it feel like it?” 

“I feel like I’ve been punched in the face again,” Jesse mumbles. He shifts around on the sofa, trying to get comfortable. 

“Do you want an ice pack?” 

“Nah,” Jesse says. He gives up trying to get comfortable and goes boneless. Tentatively, he probes the once-empty spot in his mouth with the tip of his tongue. He can feel the new tooth there, alien and familiar all at once. 

The couch cushions shift underneath him as Gabe sits on the edge of the sofa. He pushes some of Jesse’s hair off his forehead. Jesse squints up at him. 

“I bet I could get Angela to prescribe some real pain killers,” Gabe says. Jesse leans his cheek into Gabe’s palm. 

“Nah,” Jesse says. “I’m okay.” 

“If you’re sure,” Gabe says. “You’re a terrible patient otherwise.” 

“I’ll be good,” Jesse promises. “If you come down here properly.” 

It’s ridiculous; two grown men of not insubstantial size trying to squeeze onto a sofa that was built for _maybe_ two individuals of normal proportions. They manage, though, as they’ve managed before. Jesse ends up tucked into Gabe’s side, his cheek pressed against the soft fabric of Gabe’s hoodie. Gabe’s hand gently strokes the hair at the back of Jesse’s neck. 

“Better?” 

“Better.” 


End file.
